Now in PH prison, Veloso is begging Marcos for clemency

MANILA, Philippines. Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina who spent nearly 15 years in an Indonesian prison for drug trafficking, said Wednesday that she is innocent of the crime and again appealed to President Marcos to pardon her.

This time, she made the appeal on Philippine soil, surrounded by tearful family members, civil society supporters and government officials who facilitated her escape back to the country, where she will continue to serve her life sentence.

“I am very happy that I am finally back in our country,” Veloso told rapturous media at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW), where she was immediately taken after arriving in Manila.

READ: 14 Years on Death Row: A Timeline of Mary Jane Veloso’s Fight for Justice

“I am begging the President (Marcos) to pardon me so that I can be with my family. I’ve been in prison for (almost) 15 years in Indonesia for a crime I didn’t commit,” she added, breaking down in tears as she stood with nearly a dozen loved ones who came to see her on the first day of her return. in the Philippines.

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Veloso spent the first few hours after returning home checking in at the CIW in Mandaluyong City, where she stayed until her wish was fulfilled.

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The head of Migrante International, Joanna Concepcion, said that “the first thing Veloso mentioned to them was her appeal for clemency. “That’s why I hope we can continue to support her in the coming days. The fight is not over yet,” Concepcion said.

Migrante organized a “salubong” caravan for Veloso’s arrival with supporters and family members present. A motorcade followed Veloso as she was transported to Mandaluyong from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in a Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) vehicle.

Family members were unable to meet her at the airport, but they, including Veloso’s parents and two sons, were finally able to be reunited at CIW.

Victim of human trafficking

The Veloso case, as Marcos said earlier, caused a stir among many Filipinos. “A mother, trapped in poverty, made one desperate choice that changed the course of her life. Although she has been prosecuted under Indonesian law, she remains a victim of her circumstances,” he said in November.

Despite a conviction in Jakarta in 2010 for drug smuggling, Veloso, 39, and her supporters say she is a victim of human trafficking.

In April 2010, she was arrested at Adisusipto International Airport in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for allegedly possessing more than 2.6 kilograms of heroin, which she claimed was hidden in her luggage without her knowledge. Six months later, she was sentenced to death.

President Benigno Aquino III then sought her pardon in 2011 and spared her execution in 2015, although she remained on Indonesia’s death row.

In September 2022, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) again sought a pardon for Veloso.

Last November, Marcos announced that Manila and Jakarta had reached an agreement to transfer Veloso to the Philippines.

Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez said a pardon for Veloso is “on the table” but that it is still being studied by the Marcos administration.

“We must not lose sight of the fact that many people deprived of their liberty have the same right. Patients (for example). The administration is going to look into it carefully. But it’s definitely on the table,” Vasquez said.

“We should count our blessings. First, we were able to reduce the death sentence to life. Second, we were able to bring her back with us. Thirdly, returning her to us means that she will have all the rights and privileges of a person deprived of her liberty, including a possible pardon,” he added.

Ready to wait

Celia, Veloso’s mother, considers Veloso’s return a “miracle” and is willing to wait for Marcos’ decision.

“The important thing is that she is here now. She is far from dead. It’s not like in Indonesia, where we were nervous, because if they decided, “Let’s execute her,” they could do it. Here in the Philippines, there is no death penalty, so I feel more relaxed here,” Celia said.

The Philippines abolished the death penalty in 1987.

The family has already made plans to spend Christmas at CIW, where Veloso will spend the next 60 days for quarantine and initial privacy protocols.

The family was genuinely concerned for her safety, as one of her recruiters, Maria Cristina Sergio, is also an inmate at CIW’s maximum security facility, the same facility where Veloso will be transferred in two months.

But BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. assured that there are many ways to ensure that the two never meet.

“We can transfer this person (Sergio) to another special facility in Palawan or Davao,” he said.

A significant achievement

Marcos assured that the government would ensure the safety of Veloz.

“We assure the Filipino people that Ms. Veloso’s safety and well-being is paramount, and our agencies in the justice and law enforcement sectors will continue to ensure that, as our Indonesian counterparts have protected for so long,” the president said in a statement. Wednesday.

He also thanked the Indonesian government for sparing Veloso the death sentence and allowing her to return.

Meanwhile, Indonesia has yet to make a reciprocal request under the Manila-Jakarta transfer agreement that facilitated Veloz’s return home.

“To be clear, they have not sent us any request … When the time comes, if they make such a request, this situation — granting our request — will also be taken very seriously,” Vazquez said. .

The DFA called the jailing of Veloso a “significant achievement” in the bilateral relationship between the Philippines and Indonesia.

“This is… a sign of trust and friendship between our two peoples. Therefore, we would like to take this moment to once again express our sincere thanks to the Indonesian government for this humanitarian action. Their generosity made this momentous day of Ms. Veloso’s return to the Philippines possible,” said Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo. — with reporting by Melvin Gascon and Gillian Villanueva